The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1887-01-14
A DECISION GIVEN
pY JUDGE JACOB YESTERDAY.
In tho Matter Of the Police nnl Fire
Commissionsr's OrdinRnce-Tho Full
Text OF tho Sams-Tlo tg
.U nlnln Points Shown,

Icaterday morning Judge Jacob rem
dered his decision In tho mattor OF th,
ordinance OF the city Of Wheeling, re
Gently passed. creating Board Of Fir,
and Police Commissioners and putin,
the control and management OF those twt
important departments under the sane
which the court was petisloned to declare
illegal.
The stir and comment that was causet
by the passage OF that ordinance, the
strong opposition it aroused and the
political capital that many Of It's oppo.
nenh endeavorea to make out Of 1t, are all
OF 90 recent occurrence as not to REQUIRE
moro than a nero reference to. It is all
doubtless remembered by every one, as
the matter was go generally discussed as
to engage the attention OF all classes. No,
Is it necessary to explain how the court
was petitioned, what steps wero tsken by
both sides or what the arguments were. :
The decision ot Judge Jacob is given in
full below. The salient points OF It ara as
follows: The ordinance is valid 30 far as II
creates Board; the Board constitutes
part Of the Fire Department and ali the
provisions OF the ordinance, in go far as
they relate to the control Of that depart
ment, are valid. ~,
That part In relation to the Board form
ing q part OF and controlling the Police
Department is declared Invalid and super-
ced, because there ia no authority In the
charter properly construed, to authorize
Council to crcate Police Department or
Board.
The provision in Section l which pro-
yldes that two Of the four members Of the
Board shall be chosen from political
party opposite to that tho other two be.
long to, is directory and il Council choose
to violate it the parties elected would not
be disqualified. 80 -
The provision that no saloon. keeper
shall be.a deputy sergeant Is de clared valid
because that is not personal qunlihc alton
tor an officer but regulation IS to wha!
q deputy may do while in office.
The provision that no one shall be
chosen deputy unless he can read and
write the English language is invalid be.
cause 1t is personal qualification for an Of.
ticer and Council has not been authorized
by the Legislature to prescribe quali6ca.
tions for deputy eergeants.
Looking at the matter in political
light the petitioners are practically beaten.
1t WAS the Democracy that made the fight
against the ordinance. 1t realized that q
Board would, in all probability, do as the
present Board did in the selecting of a
Chief OF tho Fro observation-disclosures.
nizs the ftness for the place OF tho pres
ent incumbent, James a. Dunning, and
the very efficient manner in which he had
administered the sfrairs OF the Depart
ment, and ignore the political side Of the
question and nominate bin TO Couucil.
Without Board the present majority in
Council would probably have made the &c.
lection OF Chief question Of political
spoils. The Board and its acts as Fire d.
partment are declared valid. The Chief u
Police, being elected by the people, made
the CAGE somewhat different ono on that
side Of the question. The great objections
raised in that connection were that po-
liceman mus. be able to read and write
English and not ssloon.keaper. Tne de-
clsion is a split on those points.
An appeal, will probably ba taken to
ascertain ii there is not some control to bs
had over the Police Department. or
whether it was tho view OF the Legisla.
ture to put that branch Of the city gov
ernmsnt beyond all control Of the city's
The order in the case will pobably bs
presented tomorrow, when petition for
a suspension for sixty or ninety days will
be msde in order to allow counsel for the
city to apply to the Supreme Court for a
writ OF error,